Rants and musings about things political, philosophical, and religious.

Captain of the Titanic

Despite world events that would no doubt be more worth our time, the media as of late has largely been focusing on the presidential race: who said what, who won which states, and who is endorsing whom.

This process has, as in times past, whipped up frenzied voters and fomented an intense debate as to whom is best qualified, electable, and preferred. But when you’re on the Titanic, it ultimately matters little whom is appointed as its Captain. No matter who the Captain is, the ship is going down.

Such a defeatist metaphor runs contrary to the hope some have regarding their favorite candidate and the promises they’ve been given along the campaign trail. Even those, like myself, that support candidates offering radical change from current practices must face reality: the ship of America has quite possibly sailed.

This is not to say that good cannot still be done. Surely, the right person in the position can effect positive change and steer the ship in a direction that won’t cause as much damage. But even though the Titanic’s captain might have saved lives through some of his actions, the ultimate loss was still catastrophic.

Critics might point out comparative analyses, noting that there are other countries doing far worse than our own. In this point they would be accurate, depending on which item is in question (e.g. economy, civil liberty, miltary, etc.). Such a comparison does not mean, however, that we’re not headed in the same direction.

I believe that we have strayed far from this standard. Evidence is plentiful, and citing just a portion would not do it justice. I leave it up to the curious reader to research in what ways America has fallen from its noble sphere the Founders fought for.

Course corrections can still be made. Repentance—both individual and collective—is always an option. But great sins require great change, and unless that change is allowed to occur, we are as doomed to the same fate as the Titanic.

And so, in this election season, it ultimately matters little whom is appointed to be the Captain of the ship. One might rearrange the deck chairs differently than another, but the glacier still looms ahead, firmly standing in defiance to the ship’s successful voyage. Only a drastic course correction—something no leading candidate offers—will allow the ship to continue on a safe journey.

8 Responses to “Captain of the Titanic”

I am reminded from a scene from The Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers, where Aragorn responds to a young man who says, “they say we have no hope.” Aragorn says, “there is always hope.” I know it is a work of fiction, but I still hold out hope for our Republic, probably for different reasons than you do.

Our nation is as strong as it’s citizens. Let us hope that we are strong enough to sustain our Republic.

The promises of the Book of Mormon concerning the Americas (North and South) say that we can be protected if we keep the commandments and serve God.

I believe the worsening situation in our country and other American countries is a direct result of not keeping the commandments or serving God.

Satan and his Secret Combinations are in control of our government. (compare Helaman 6:39-40). In the last election of 2004, we had the choice of voting between Bush, a member of the secret combination called Skull and Bones, or for Kerry, a member of the same secret combination. In the upcoming election, it appears we will have the choice of voting for John McCain, a member of the CFR, or Hilary Clinton, a member of the CFR, or Obama, a member of the CFR. Therefore, like Connor said, it matters not who we vote for, we will get the candidate who is a member of a secret combination.

In reality, we stand little chance of getting a president who is not a member of a secret combination. Yes, there will be third-party candidates to vote for, but Secret Combinations own the media and leverage the money for their favorite candidates. The chances of a non-secret combination person getting the vote is non-existant. Even though Ron Paul out-earns the other candidates in donations, we see that no matter the sum of money, it is not enough to buy the airtime from the media. We can do the “feel good” thing by voting for one of these non-secret combination candidates, but the black box voting machines will just negate those votes. Also, the electoral college will never allow a non-secret combination candidate to attain the presidency.

We can only hope that the movement, which for lack of a better definition is called the Ron Paul movement, will expand to help other Americans see that we are headed on the wrong path (of the Titanic) and that we must keep on keeping on after we get our next Secret Combination president.

In Connor’s defense, the situation is not very good. At the rate our Constitution has already been degraded, it won’t be very much longer and our “Titanic” will be sunk beyond repair.

Your premise is fatally flawed, so we needn’t accept your grim conclusions. God certainly doesn’t intend the Constitution to be the everlasting law. Insofar as he inspired the creation of that document (which I happen to fully accept) we must also admit that he did so to further His purposes at the moment.

There is no question that our country finds itself in a very different world and in very different circumstances than those which prevailed in the late 1700s. While I don’t agree with the way the Constitution has been de facto amended over the years without following the prescribed process, I am glad of some of the results. You’d probably agree that making some decisions at a national level (even those that our Founders wouldn’t have agreed with in their time) have been beneficial in our time.

God certainly doesn’t intend the Constitution to be the everlasting law.

No doubt. But until a new law has been given, it must be obeyed. Anything other than that resembles those Jews that disregarded the Law of Moses previous to Christ’s Atonement. That’s why I believe the verse cited says that anything more or less than the Constitution cometh of evil. It’s not the law that’s important in this regard, but the principles they are/were founded upon.

While I don’t agree with the way the Constitution has been de facto amended over the years without following the prescribed process, I am glad of some of the results.

I do not approve of any results stemming from a blatant disregard of the law, nor the established method for amending such law. Ignoring or contradicting the law, like the evil tree, cannot bring forth good fruit.

You’d probably agree that making some decisions at a national level (even those that our Founders wouldn’t have agreed with in their time) have been beneficial in our time.

You’d have to name specifics for me to comment, but generally I would disagree with this assessment. The genius of the Constitution was to pull down power from a central authoritarian figure, disseminating it among the masses (we the people) and allowing important decision to be made, where possible, at the most local level possible.

Perhaps the candidates are all on board the Titanic, but that doesn’t mean that we should be spending all of our time treading water in the pool on the Titanic’s deck while we all go down with the ship. We have serious problems to address NOW, not at election time.

We need to address the terrorism from within our government. When so much focus is placed on a future election, no one is watching the chicken coop and the whores in Washington D.C. are selling us out in broad daylight thinking that no one is watching. For more on this check out my post: http://janetwalgren.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/terrorism/

Our military is not an entity that should be playing in a “global economy.” We should be so loud and reactive now that no politician would dare to cross us. We need to turn on more than just one spotlight. The politicians know how to behave when they have to.

My only critique: other nations have much more corrupt governments than ours, but are nonetheless still surviving. I agree with you, and perhaps you can provide some scriptural support for the claim that our nation is uniquely vulnerable if it strays from the path God intends for it.

About the Author

Connor Boyack is president of Libertas Institute, a public policy think tank in Utah. He is the author of several books along with hundreds of columns and articles championing individual liberty. Connor's work has been publicly praised by national figures such as Ron Paul, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Tom Woods, and many others.

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